Second viewing

We have already exhibited these pictures in the Auditorium here in Bigastro. Now they are going on view in Orihuela. 

 

August Fiesta

This week in Bigastro

 

Easter in Bigastro

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Help would be helpful

Since we moved to Bigastro, we have had nothing but praise for the Spanish health system. Over the 20 years we have lived here it has progressed a lot. The use of IT has helped enormously. If you have an issue, it generally gets dealt with quickly. You don't hear of patients waiting in ambulances or corridors to be seen as you do in the UK. You can usually get an appointment to see a doctor within a couple of days. 

 However, I do now have one misgiving about the service offered. Following my heart attack on the 12th December it was made very clear to me that I should quit smoking. Even though smoking a pipe is very different to cigarettes in that you do not inhale pipe smoke in the same way, it still poses a huge risk to your health. Given all the evidence available, I would be foolish in the extreme to carry on smoking. In truth, I really wish I had never started smoking in the first place. In those days though, nobody was aware of the risks involved – our doctor used to smoke in his surgery during consultations. You could smoke in cinemas, restaurants – wherever you pleased. 

Just telling me in the report they gave me as I left hospital to stop smoking was actually not very helpful. It is easy for someone who has never smoked to imagine that you simply give up one day and all is well. For anyone who has smoked for much of their life is not that easy. In fact it is very hard. 

 The NHS in England recognise this and offers a wide range of support to help people quit. You can even get tablets and other nicotine replacement products to help on prescription. With that level of support, the success rate must be higher than in countries like Spain where, if my experience is anything to go by, there is no help given. 

I read that 46% of Americans who smoked before a heart attack continued to smoke afterwards even though they were warned of the risk of a further heart attack. The percentage figure for people who successfully quit smoking in the UK is still less than 30. 

The message is simple. If governments and health services think it is important for people to stop smoking, then they have to offer help and support. 

 It is now 46 days since I last smoked a pipe. Even though I suck sugar free sweets to compensate, there are times when I would happily light up a bowl of St Bruno. In the morning, when I am painting or at night after my meal are the worst times. I have to work really hard to distract myself and not become tetchy. 

I also have not had any alcoholic drink since my heart attack. That doesn't seem to bother me as much though. Once I have given my heart time to recover, I shall probably go back to the odd glass of wine and a tot of brandy.

Safer roads for cyclists

Changes to the rules for 2025. 

FOR DRIVERS

• Reduced Speed When Overtaking: Drivers must reduce their speed by at least 20 km/h below the posted limit when overtaking cyclists.  This creates a safer environment and minimizes speed differentials.

• 1.5-Meter Safety Distance: The existing rule remains unchanged. Drivers must maintain a minimum lateral clearance of 1.5 meters when overtaking cyclists. 

• Changing Lanes on Multi-Lane Roads: If the road has more than one lane in each direction, drivers are now obligated to fully change lanes to overtake cyclists safely. 

 FOR CYCLISTS

• Compulsory Helmet Use: Cyclists will be required to wear helmets on all roads, except in cases where medical exemptions apply. 

• Positioning in Urban Areas: In towns and cities without dedicated bike lanes, cyclists will need to ride on the roadway, preferably occupying the center of the lane. This ensures better visibility and deters unsafe overtaking by vehicles. 

• Overtaking Rights: Cyclists will also be permitted to overtake motor vehicles on either side in urban settings. 

A tale of woe

 The recorder that I use to make recordings of concerts had developed a fault. The colour screen on the Zoom H6 is apparently prone to fading over time. Mine has now started to fade to white on the left hand side.

The only cure is to replace the screen. However there is a catch. The only company that I have found supplies replacement screens says they only get three a year and so there is a waiting list.

I therefore decided that it would be easier to buy a new recorder but this time the H5 model that has a black and white screen which is not prone to fading.

My instinct was to order one from Amazon but then I found a shop in Alicante that sold them at a cheaper price so I ordered one from there. The shop dispatched my new recorder the same day so I was looking forward to using it at the Santa Cecilia concert.

Having been dispatched, the package was shown as “out for delivery” the next day. That was until 13:39 when the tracking changed to “incident” with no explanation of what the issue was.

The same thing happened the following day, the day of the concert. “Out for delivery” followed by “incident”. This time at 14:15.

To cut a long story short, this package was been out for delivery five times and each time there has been a mysterious incident. It is out again today for the sixth time. We shall see what happens now!

You may ask, “who is the delivery company?”. Tipsa at their location in Catral.

I researched Tipsa on a review site and it seems that many people have had the same problem as me. They report numerous failures to deliver and mention Catral as the worst office to deal with. The conclusion is that Tipsa want you to go and collect your package in person at their depot. They say that Tipsa never answer the phone nor do they answer emails.

I wish I'd never spotted that shop in Alicante. For 11 Euros more I would have had my recorder from Amazon without delay and without issues.

And the winner is....

Remember I said that Chris would win Strictly if he got into the final. 

Here are the results from the Strictly Spoiler site. It's not even a close call, it's a foregone conclusion!

Who Do You Want To Win Strictly Come Dancing 2024 (Select ONE option only) 

Chris and Dianne 47.29% (26272 votes) 

 JB and Lauren 18.51% (10284 votes) 

Sarah and Vito 15.59% (8663 votes) 

Tasha and Aljaz 11.14% (6191 votes) 

 Pete and Jowita 7.45% (4140 votes)

Time for the warm coats

 We have enjoyed an expended period of warm weather here in Bigastro. Although many have taken to wearing winter coats, scarves etc, in truth you could still go around in a T shirt and shorts when the sun is out. 

That will come to an end on Sunday when the temperature is forecast to plummet by 7 degrees. No more balmy 24 degrees during the day, the forecast says 17 degrees followed by 16 and 15 the following days. 

I recall that some of our British neighbours left their winter coats behind when they moved to Spain. It may still be sunny in the winter but it sure isn't warm. 

Christmas is coming to Bigastro

 

Strictly not dancing

 For years Strictly Come Dancing has been as much or more about popularity than dancing. The system whereby the public get an equal share of the vote to put contestants into the dance offs means that the more popular contestants survive even when their dancing skills are not so good. 

We might disagree with some of the comments the judges make and certainly their scores are often questionable. However, they do know a thing or two about dancing and can recognise when someone is good or more to the point not so good. The mix between technique and entertainment value is not so easy to evaluate. They don't usually give high scores to those who are struggling. Ability rather than effort is rewarded particularly when we get to the final weeks. 

It was clear from the start that some of the contestants had little sense of rhythm in their bodies and would struggle to pull of the more tricky dances. I'm thinking about the likes of Paul Merson, Nick Knowles and Toyah Wilcox here. 

The person who has struggled most is probably the blind contestant, Chris McCausland. We are in awe of the fact that he can dance at all. His ability to keep in time with his partner is a mystery. Does that mean though that we should vote for him to win the competition? I don't think so. 

I confess to visiting the Strictly Spoiler site on Sunday mornings as much to find out who is popular and who is not as much as to discover who has been eliminated. Each week you have the chance to vote for the three competitors who you think are the best. Almost every week, Chris McCausland tops the list by a large margin. 

If the public keep putting him top of the list, then he will certainly be in the final when the only vote that will count will be the public vote. Should he eventually win over much stronger contestants like Tasha Ghouri or JB Gill? I'm not so sure. 

Oh yes, and finally, why is Pete Wicks escaping dance offs? 

Music to our ears

 

They should do the same in England

Driving in snow and icy conditions on Spanish motorways just got safer thanks to updates to Article 31 of the General Traffic Regulations, due to be introduced in January 2025. 

These new measures are designed to improve safety and traffic flow during adverse weather. Here’s what you need to know:

Stay in the Right Lane During heavy snow or ice, vehicles must stick to the right-hand lane only. The left-hand lane is now strictly reserved for emergency vehicles and snowplows to keep the roads clear and provide swift assistance when needed.

If traffic comes to a halt or slows to a crawl, drivers are now required to form an emergency corridor by moving their vehicles to the edges of the road. This creates a clear path in the middle for emergency services. Failing to comply can result in a hefty €200 fine. 

Motorbikes and the Hard Shoulder

Motorcyclists have been granted special permission to use the hard shoulder in cases of heavy traffic, as long as they don’t exceed 30 km/h. This helps ease congestion while ensuring rider safety

No Overtaking allowed overtaking on snow-covered motorways is no longer permitted. All vehicles must keep to the designated lane and avoid risky maneuvers, ensuring smoother and safer traffic flow.

No more leaks

 For the first ten years or so we had no problems with the water supply. Then the leaks in the supply pipe started and have continued getting worse and more frequent as time has gone by. 

They tried to resolve the problem on the other side of the estate by installing valves that limited the pressure but that caused problems for showers, central heating boilers and even washing machines. 

Every week the water company were on site repairing leaks. The job was made more complicated by the fact the pipe was under the pavements where there were other supplies. They had to be careful not to damage any of the other cables, pipes etc that lay above the water main. 

Eventually, they decided to replace the water main with steel tubing. They started on the roads most effected and have gradually moved on to the other roads. Instead of laying the pipe under the pavement, they have laid it in the road close to the kerb. 

This last week they came to our road and so we now have what we hope is a permanent solution.  

Who knew that?

 Pascual Segura tells us lots of fascinating things about the history of Bigastro. 

In his latest post her tells us about the old houses in the town that had a loft with a small window for ventilation. Apparently that is where they raised silk worms fed with mulberry leaves grown on trees in the town.

In the eighteenth century they would produce up to 5,000 kilos of silk per year. 

It was silk from those worms that was used to produce the cloak that the statue of Mary wears. 

Now my wife was born in Macclesfield. They didn't cultivate silk worms there but they did weave silk from Italy into fine cloth which made the town famous. 

Silk was woven in Cheshire from the late 1600s. The handloom weavers worked in the attic workshops in their own homes. Macclesfield was famous for silk buttons manufacture. 

Just needs a coat of varnish

I should really have started my painting for this competition earlier to give it a chance to dry properly. 

The general advice is to leave oil paintings at least 6 months before applying varnish. That is because the oils in oil paint cure rather than dry. 

I only finished my painting last week and although I didn't use thick undiluted paint, it still won't be ready for normal varnish.  

The problem is that parts of my painting appear matte and the colours a little dull without a coat of varnish 

I need to have it ready to hand in next week so I will have to apply a couple of coats of spray retouching varnish and hope that does the trick.  

Wish me luck! Last year I got third prize for my painting, "The Procession",  Let's see what happens with "The Floral Offering" this year. 

Corpus

 

Our paintings

 For those of you unable to visit the exhibition of our paintings, I have made you an album which you can find in the sidebar. 

From an idea proposed by Evaristo and I many years ago, BigArte was formed last year with six artists attending the first meeting in Evaristo's office. 

Our first exhibition was last May. Then we had a homage to my work as a photographer. That exhibition was restaged in the town square and in the Auditorium. We then went on to produce paintings for Santa Cecilia with the theme of music. 

Our latest exhibition is called "Diologo con los Maestros", a little of the Prado Museum in Bigastro. We were to reinterpret the old masters. 

Artists chose to reinterpret the works of Dali, Magritte, Picasso, Durer and others. The Spanish artist, Joaquin Sorolla was popular. My contribution included works based on Constable. Turner and Rembrant. 

All the paintings are offered for sale. 

Coming up

 

Our latest exhibition

Inaugaration at 8:30pm